Open up your aperture
Who doesn’t love holiday light bokeh? In order to achieve this, you need to have your aperture pretty wide open.
Close up/narrow your aperture
As said above, if you want some bokeh have your aperture wide open. However, if you would like the starburst effect in your holiday photos then you need to close it up to at least f/18.
Don’t wait until dark
Wait until 30 minutes after sunset to take outdoor shots. Most people typically think they need to wait until it is completely dark outside to take photos of their house or a light display. If you go out shortly after sunset, it is still dark enough to see the lights but you are able to capture a lot of the surrounding details.
Look for Strong Composition and Creativity
This is perhaps the most difficult aspect of this type of photography. When out shooting, it is often difficult to capture the magic of the scene. Things that can really help your composition are not really all that different than typical landscape photography. Just start with the question; “What is it about this scene that I really like?” and “What do I want to emphasize?”. Get lower or higher for a different perspective. Try different angles to see what works best. Shoot close and wide, or stand back and zoom in. Pull out your macro lens or even a tilt-shift to try something different. Zoom bursts, and long exposures with de-focusing techniques can really make for some unique images.
Make the Ordinary Extraordinary
Overall, perhaps the simplest thing you can do is find a scene that is a strong one any time of the year and just happens to be lit up for the holidays. If nothing else, now you have a new time of day in which to shoot that scene with your mirrorless camera from Beachcamera.com.
There are many challenges and opportunities when it comes to documenting the beautiful displays of festive holiday lighting. These are some of the things you can do to overcome these challenges and seize the opportunities.
